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The present village was laid out in the second half of the 19th century by the local landowner David Williams of Castell Deudraeth at Minffordd on land reclaimed by the drainage of stagnant marshes. The older settlement at Upper Penrhyn was originally called Cefn Coch ('Red Ridge') and that name is perpetuated by the Penrhyndeudraeth primary school, which is known as Ysgol Cefn Coch.

The lower half of Penrhyndeudraeth used to be a lake, which was then drained to create the area where the village's High Street is today. The names of terraces in Penrhyndeudraeth, such as Glanllyn ('lakeside') or Penllyn ('the furthest side of the lake'), hearken back to a time when the space they occupy was underwater. There is also an area named Penlan ('the end of the tide'), which may point to the reason why the lower half of Penrhyndeudraeth is flat. It is believed that the lower half of Penrhyndeudraeth was founded on a spot behind the Royal Oakpub where the old Pierce & Sons garage is located.

Halfway between Penrhyndeudraeth and Minffordd, next to the Snowdonia National Park Headquarters, but standing aloof, is Hendre Hall, where in 1648, Humphrey Humphreys was born. Bishop of Bangor from 1689 to 1701 and then of Hereford, Humphreys was a notable Welshman, well versed in history and antiquities of his native land. He was the inspirer of a revival in Welsh literature and the patron of such eminent writers as Ellis Wynne, Samuel Williams, Edward Llwyd and Edward Samuel. According to Edward Llwyd he was the most patriotic Welshman of his time. His parents Richard Humphreys and Margaret Wynn are buried at St Brothen's Church, Llanfrothen. He died in 1712. One of the family carvings at the Holy Trinity Church Penrhyndeudraeth is of him and there is also an oak chest which Richard Humphreys gave to Llanfrothen Church whilst working as its warden in 1690.

A few old cottages were erected on Upper Penrhyn or Cefn Coch as it was called; but the village proper is comparatively modern. The ground on which it stands was a malarial swamp encirciling a huge stagnant pool. It owes its existence as a commercial centre to the farsighted-ness and business acumen of a patriotic squire - David Williams of Castell Deudraeth - who drained the swamp and dried the pool and constructed many roads. Wisely adopting a scheme of town planning evolved by the builder of Tremadog and his Italian craftsmen, Squire Williams gave Penrhyndeudraeth broad streets and wide open spaces. There was also a dream of a garden of rest on Market Square (outside Osmond Terrace which now has parked cars), with ornamental trees and clumps of shrubs in front of what was Victoria Hotel which is now a dwelling and previously a shop owned by Mr & Mrs. Rimmer, and nearby to the Victoria Inn at the time which later became Midland Bank / HSBC, but unfortunately this was never fulfilled. The village square is a road junction. A traveller has choice of four roads - one leading to the station, one to Porthmadog, one to Maentwrog and the other to Llanfrothen and the Pass of Aberglaslyn.

The main manufacturing industry in Penrhyndeudraeth was established in 1872 to make guncotton. Cookes Explosives Ltd - part of the Imperial Chemical Industries (I.C.I.) dealing with increased demand for munitions during World War I set up a new explosives manufacturing facility at Penrhyndeudraeth, bringing an economic boom to the town. The plant produced thousands of tons of munitions for the war and explosives for quarrying and mining. In 1949, R. T. Cooke applied for a licence to store explosives at Croesor Quarry, in Penrhyndeudraeth. Many lost their lives during accidents at the works, where there is a slate plaque to remember them and everyone who worked there. The prolonged miners' strike of 1983 and the competition from foreign coal imports resulted in wholesale pit closures which, in turn, reduced the demand for mining explosives to the point where production was no longer economic and the site was finally cleared in 1997. It is now a nature reserve notable for the presence in summer of nightjars.

Another 19th century industry in the district is Garth Quarry at Minffordd, established in 1870 to make granitesetts for road building in Victorian towns and cities. Like the explosives industry, the quarry relied heavily on the coming of the Cambrian Railways in 1872. The quarry is still working and now produces roadstone and railway ballast.

The village is at the junction of the A487 with the A4085 which connects with Beddgelert and Caernarfon. The first section of this road is very narrow and rises steeply through Upper Penrhyn. In places it is so narrow that only a single vehicle can pass.

To the south is the Pont Briwettoll road leading over a wooden bridge providing a short-cut to the Harlech road. This toll bridge provides stunning views of the Dwyryd estuary, spoiled only by the electricity pylons crossing immediately downstream. The bridge is also shared with the Cambrian Coast railway mainline. A new £20m road and rail bridge is currently (November 2013) being built to replace Pont Briwet. For generations, the Grade II listed Pont Briwet has carried the Cambrian Coast Railway and allowed people to cross Afon Dwyryd from Penrhyndeudraeth to Llandecwyn along a narrow road suitable for cars only. Lorries, buses, fire engines and ambulances, which now have to go through Maentwrog, will be able to cross the new bridge.

Penrhyndeudraeth is a thriving Welsh-speaking village, where the language is used everyday. In 2001 76% of the population spoke Welsh. Even so, in June 2011, a new monoglotimmigrant English landlord of a public house in Penrhyndeudraeth pointed an airgun at local patrons of his pub, threatening to shoot his customers if they continued to speak Welsh.[2]

There is also a very popular Facebook group entitled "Hen Luniau a Hanes Penrhyndeudraeth Old Photos and History" which provides many interesting old photos of the village and its characters.

There are many language traces of Old Welsh to be found in the place names in the Penrhyndeudraeth area, such as “Pont Briwet /Briwet Bridge (Briwet is cognate with the Breton word “Brued” meaning bridge). Remains of old huts can be found near Ty’n y Berllan, which date back to the Bronze Age.

The Senior team are currently in their second season in the 2nd Division of the Welsh Alliance League, after finishing 3rd in their first season at this level in 2012/13 and also winning the Take Stock Van Hire Cup (for Division 2 clubs), runners-up in the Mawddach Challenge Cup and also receiving a trophy for the best official matchday programme in the League's 2nd Division. This followed a very successful campaign in the Gwynedd League (2011-12) where they finished as League Champions and also won the "Gwynedd Safeflue" and "Bob Owen Memorial" Shields.

The Junior teams (under 14, 12, 11, 9 and 7s) all play in the Llyn and Eifionydd Junior Football League.